Benjamin Stevenson’s first book featuring documentary maker Jack Quick was a revelation, particularly when considered again, in hindsight, from the viewpoint of the second novel in the series. Quoting from my own review of GREENLIGHT at the time: “There’s a something about GREENLIGHT that feels like a non-too-subtle dig at the commercialisation of true crime….
Christchurch based author Paul Cleave has had a way of creating scenarios and settings for his novels that have kept this reader awake and mildly anxious for a long time now. Whatever it Takes is a bit of a departure from his previous style, set in the USA, eschewing a lot of the slight paranormal…
Recently busted back down to the rank of Constable, Mick Goodenough is the newest cop in town. Once a detective always a detective though, and it’s impossible for the experienced investigator not to speak up when it appears that his new colleagues are ignoring the sinister signs of an escalating killer. The Night Whistler takes…
Charlie Parker walks the world alone, but in his dreams and in the thinner moments between the worlds of those who breathe and those who no longer can, there visits two particular ghosts. The Dirty South is a prequel novel, long awaited for, however may not go back quite as far in the life of…
Michael Robotham’s crime novels have always had an easy grace about them, somehow managing to be dense works without appearing to be so. As with all second novels, the second novel of a new series has much on the line in proving to fickle readers that their leap of faith into new territory was warranted. …
The insidious nature of grooming and the environment in which it needs to support its secretive and incremental processes is a topic rarely encountered in fiction. A common crime, yet rarely recognized as such by the victim or those who may witness its purposeful impact. Dark Vanessa is a fictional account of the circumstances in…
Wanting what others have fast becomes a fatal obsession in The Other Passenger. Whether that be your job, your house, your bank balance or your relationships, perhaps there is always someone in your circle of friends and acquaintances who feels that for you in particular, it all came a bit too easy. Unable to cope…
Living in New York is an expensive exercise for an arts student, and yet there is one person in Nat’s class who seems to have it all together as everyone else is scrounging for a buck. The world of Sugar Daddies, and their lovely young Sugar Babies, is at first oddly appealing to read of…
In the near future, a child is created using the DNA of three parents; mother Stacey, father Isaac, and a long deceased ancestor of mankind. This child will not be able to hold a passport, live a normal life, or even be issued with a birth certificate. She is Fauna. Stacey and Isaac, a young…
The London life of a young actor can be one of flopped auditions, money scrounging, crummy rentals and the occasional spot of couch surfing. Emily Proudman has just lost her day job as well as her agent, so at this point is absolutely open to all opportunities that could save her from yet another begging…
